The present invention relates to user adjustable or tiltable steering wheels employed in passenger motor vehicles. Tiltable steering wheels currently employed in passenger motor vehicles commonly employ a user releasable latch which enables pivoting of the steering wheel about a horizontal axis transverse to the vehicle for moving the steering wheel to a position facilitating passenger entry or exit from the driver's position in the vehicle. Tiltable steering wheels have found wide-spread acceptance in passenger vehicles.
It has been desired to provide an electrical indication of the torque or steering effort applied to the steering wheel by the vehicle driver and to employ such an electrical signal for diagnostic and control purposes in the vehicle; one such application being control of a power steering mechanism based, in part, upon a continuous electrical indication of the torque applied to the steering wheel. However, in view of the swivel joint employed in the steering shaft to accommodate the tilting movement of the wheel, it has been found difficult to provide a way or means of sensing the torque in such a tiltable steering wheel and yet provide a reliable electrical signal indication of the applied torque to the wheel. It has long been desired to particularly find a way or means of providing an electric signal indicative of torque applied to the steering wheel by the driver in a manner which is simple, reliable and low in cost and easy to install on the steering wheel shaft during assembly of the tiltable steering wheel mechanism in the vehicle during manufacturing.